All of St. Paul’s New Testament letters have a similar structure. After the greeting, he usually explains some aspect of what Christians, including us, believe. These explanations are loaded with Christian doctrine, things that Jesus revealed to us about God, the world and ourselves. These teachings have stayed solid throughout the 20 centuries of the Church, making clear the Holy Spirit’s presence in the Church. The Creed we pray every Sunday is a summary of what Jesus taught directly to the Apostles and what St. Paul teaches to the first Christian communities. St. Peter and St. Paul, as well as all the other martyrs, believed so strongly in these teachings that they gave up their lives instead of denying them.
St. Paul always takes one more step when ending his letters. He makes the connection between what we believe and how we should live. People who believe one way and live another is one of Jesus’ greatest challenges, he often spoke critically of the hypocrisy of the leaders of his time. St. Paul doesn’t want any Christian to fall into the miserable trap of becoming a hypocrite. Therefore, after teaching Christian doctrine, St. Paul instructs us in how we should live that doctrine in real life.
Today’s 2nd Reading gives us one of the most beautiful examples of these instructions. In the first part of the Letter to the Romans, Paul explained the goodness of God and his plan of salvation. Now, in the second part, he explains how we who have received that salvation should respond to God’s goodness. We no longer have to worry about the thousands of confusing commandments and laws that come from the Old Testament. All of those, St. Paul tells us, are summed up in one simple phrase: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This is the heart of Christianity and the path to fulfillment, because it is Christ’s path. We pray for God’s grace to show our love for him each day, through our love for our neighbor.+
Homily for Saturday of the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
Homily for Friday of the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
Homily for Thursday of the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
Homily for Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Homily for Tuesday of the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
Homily for the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
Homily for the Solemnity of Pentecost
Homily for Saturday of the 7th Week of Easter
Homily for Friday of the 7th Week of Easter
Homily for Thursday of the 7th Week of Easter
Homily for Wednesday of the 7th Week of Easter
Homily for the Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle
Homily for Monday of the 7th Week of Easter
Homily for the 7th Sunday of Easter
Homily for Saturday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
Homily for Friday of the 6th Week of Easter
Homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
Homily for Wednesday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
Homily for Tuesday of the 6th Week of Easter
Homily for Monday of the 6th Week of Easter
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